Pre- and post-test results of the cognitive functioning level of workers with intellectual impairment after the implementation of a structured activity programme in a protective workshop

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT:Acknowledgement of the right to equal work opportunities for people with disabilities iswidely supported in South Africa. Several policy documents and laws have beenpublished since July 1993 and provide clear guidelines regarding equal opportunities forpeople with disabilities.A state subsidy scheme for protective workshops was introduced for the first time on1 April 1997 (Operational Manual for Protective Workshops, 2001: 1). The purpose ofthis subsidy scheme was to provide work opportunities for people who cannot enter thesheltered or open labour market due to the effect of their disabilities on their dailyfunctioning. In March 2001, the Department of Social Development and PovertyAlleviation in the Western Cape introduced a draft document, Operational Manual forProtective Workshops. The aim of the manual focused on the development of theworker role and economic empowerment of people with disabilities who work inprotective workshops.Due to ignorance, fear and stereotyping, persons with intellectual impairment are beingunfairly discriminated against in society and at the workplace. With reasonableaccommodation, persons with intellectual impairment are able to demonstrate their workability and contribute equally in the workplace. Persons with intellectual impairmentcontribute to the economy and society by means of their service in protectiveworkshops.The aim of the study was to investigate whether the structured activity programmeimplemented in a protective workshop in the Western Cape brought a change to thelevel of cognitive functioning of workers with intellectual impairment as assessed by theAllen Cognitive Level Screen (ACLS), with the purpose of making recommendationsregarding the sustainability and extension of the structured activity programme.Pre- and post-tests of the workers' cognitive functioning were done to determinewhether the implemented structured activity programme had an effect on the cognitivefunctioning level of the workers. The ACLS was used as measurement instrument and ahypothesis was stated:HO - There is no change in the level of cognitive functioning of the workers afterparticipation in a structured activity programme.H1 - There is a change in the level of cognitive functioning of the workers afterparticipation in a structured activity programme.The Functional Information Processing Model (FIPM) was used as a frame of referencein the development of the structured activity programme for the occupational group. Thestructured activity programme was implemented and after one year and six months apost-test was done on the workers in the occupational group.The null hypothesis was accepted as p=O.28.A 95% confidence interval was indicated.The post-test indicated that there was no significant change in the cognitive levels of theworkers in the occupational group after implementation of a structured activityprogramme. This could have resulted from the study sample being too small. Althoughthe change was not statistically significant. it indicated that learning did occur on anAllen Cognitive Level (ACL) 3. It is recommended that the study to be replicated at otherprotective workshops that may provide a bigger sample to confirm the amount oflearning that takes place.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University